The last picture shows a scan from "20th Century Factory Glass" by Leslie Jackson. It shows the same technique used in this piece, and identifies the maker as Frantisek Vizner, one of the great Czech glass designers.

Post-war Czech glass is an exciting field for glass collectors. In a nutshell:

Czechoslovakia was the biggest producer in the 30s but the industry was destroyed during WW2. War forced many Czech artists into glass design schools, which kept going through the war. The communists reinforced this trend, in the late 40s, by forcing artists into practical crafts like glass design.

In the 50s, the Italian and Scandinavian glassmakers led the world in art glass. Glassmaking in those countries was not too badly damaged by the war, and both centres had discovered the value of good design. However, Czech glass won gold at the 1957 Brussels World Fair (and similar events). Glass became a source of Czech nationalist pride and glass artists thrived. By the late 60s and 70s the Czechs had made a strong claim to be world leaders.

Height: 17cm
Width: 8.5cm
Weight: 2160g

Condition: some scratches to the base, three unintended bubbles (3x5mm) underneath, a 3x5mm mark from manufacture/burst bubble underneath, a few scratches (longest 3mm)